Truffle hunting in Chianti (video!)

During my last trip I went truffle hunting in Chianti with Becky and Adele, and in this video you’ll see Daniele and his dogs digging them from the earth beneath the oak trees. And how we enjoyed the truffles in Daniele’s farmhouse with great food, family and friends.

You might associate truffles with fancy restaurants, but I show you how they’re collected in the Tuscan countryside.

I hope you’ll love the experience as much as we did. Let me know in the comments if you’d love to try it!

If you’re a traveler who loves to experience places by connecting with locals check our Exploring Chianti Tour.

And if you’d love to immerse yourself in the quiet, slow life of truffle hunters I suggest you watch Truffle Hunters. Pure poetry!

Transcript

So when I was in Tuscany, I had a magical experience collecting truffles. And when I say truffles, you might think about fancy, expensive restaurants. At least that’s what I used to think. But in this video, I want to show you a different side to truffles — how truffles are collected in the Tuscan countryside before they actually reach those restaurants.

So when you’re in the Tuscan countryside and you’re following the panting dogs in the oak woods and you’re finding your first black truffle still covered in soil, it’s already per se an amazing experience. But in my opinion, the best part comes afterwards — when you sit at a wooden table with a truffle hunter’s family and you’re hearing the glass clink and you’re passing the wine and the basket of bread and you get to shave the truffles you found on top of a delicious plate of steaming buttery pasta, and you get hit by that intense earthy smell of truffles.

So in this way, you get to experience a slice of Tuscan life in a more personal way because you’re not just sitting in a restaurant, you’re in a family home. So it’s more intimate, it’s more convivial. I hope this video will give you a taste of what it feels like to actually go truffle hunting. And if you’d like to try it, please send me a message.

And this for me was the peak moment, to see Becky shaving the truffles she found on top of her pasta. I love to see people in a sense of awe and amazement. I love how we actually got to that moment.

The day started at Daniela and Daniele’s farmhouse near Greve in Chianti. We had coffee while getting to know their adorable dogs. Then Daniela taught us briefly about the different kinds of truffles we can find, according to the seasons, and what kind of environment they need for growing. Then we headed to the oak woods that are just right outside their backyard. It was a very windy and muddy day.

And one of the best parts of the day was to see Pia finding the truffle. The dog Pia sniffed the truffle and she’s really going for it — she’s spraying roots and digging, and Daniele was worried that she would break the truffle because truffles actually lose market value when they aren’t fully intact. But for us, for a lovely lunch, it was just perfect. And I love Daniele’s big smile.

That day we managed to find five truffles and finally we headed back to the house for a delicious lunch. Daniele is also a winemaker and olive oil producer so we of course had the chance to taste his red wine and olive oil. We had lovely conversation at the table, and here Daniele is explaining the difference between two kinds of truffles that we found.

And then it was time to say goodbye. I always go back home with a heartwarming feeling after spending the day with them, and I know it was the same for everyone.